Veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and veterinary medicine students’ skills and experience make them a most valuable resource during public health disasters and emergencies impacting animals as well as humans.
Members of this response team have the option of participating in public health emergencies affecting humans as logistics support personnel, vaccinators (dependent on training and licensure), ushers, or registration staff.
Team Leads: Vickie Klang and Michelle Willette
Team Member Roles and Responsibilities
Team Member Roles
Potential Veterinary Medicine Response Team deployment roles include, but are not limited to:
- Vaccinating “at risk” animals
- Providing public information via a phone bank in conjunction with a local animal board of health
- Participating in disease investigation (surveillance/trace backs)
- Depopulating farms
- Assisting with the sheltering of animals
As well as:
- Assist with physical set up of MRC deployment site; including but not limited to:
- Mass Dispensing Site/Point of Dispensing
- Staff Staging Areas
- Pharmaceutical Cache Dispensing Area
- Campus/Family Assistance Center
- Training Events
- Assist with providing for staff needs during deployment
- Care and feeding
- Staff check-in/check-out during large deployment or training event
- Supply Management
- Assist MRC Manager in supply inventory, organization, and maintenance
- Restock supplies during MRC deployments, (Mass Dispensing Site/Point of Dispensing)
In addition:
- Ability to lift 25 pounds
- Ability to stand for 2 hours without rest periods
Team Member Responsibilities
- Training
- Orientation to the U of M Medical Reserve Corps Program (2025)
- MRC 101 (2025)
- PODS (Points of Dispensing): Public Health Training for Staff and Volunteers
- The National Incident Management System (NIMS) & the Incident Command System (ICS): A Primer for Volunteers (2024)
- Psychological First Aid: A Community Supported Model (2024)
- Stay Current on MRC Activities by reading MRC newsletters and visiting the MRC website
- Attend 1-2 team meetings a year
Team Membership Requirements
Members of this team must be affiliated with the College of Veterinary Medicine or the University's Veterinary Medicine Center.
Team Member Time Commitment
- Attend a minimum of 1 team meeting per year
- Participate in at least 1 logistics support activity per year
- Participate in drills and exercises when available
- Participate in MRC deployments when available
- Assist with set up of training events when available
- View on-line training modules listed above (1 hour for each module)